Vatican urges ex-Swiss Guard to detail gay threat

VATICAN CITY—A senior Vatican official has urged a former Swiss Guard commander to come forward with details about accusations that the gay culture in the Vatican posed a security threat to the pope.

Elmar Maeder, who headed the Swiss Guards from 2002-2008, told the Swiss newspaper Schweiz am Sonntag that he didn't doubt that predatory gays worked at the Vatican. He was quoted as saying that in his experience, "many homosexuals tend to be more loyal toward each other than toward other people or institutions." He said he wouldn't promote gay guards out of fear they might be disloyal.

In an interview with La Repubblica, Archbishop Angelo Becciu, No. 2 in the Vatican's secretariat of state, urged Maeder to provide names to back his accusations. His office confirmed his quotes Friday.